


And The Wind Still Blows

by ivebeenthinkingtoomuch



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Anxiety, Gen, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Non-Consensual Violence, Other, Suicide
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-18
Updated: 2016-07-21
Packaged: 2018-06-09 07:44:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6896092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivebeenthinkingtoomuch/pseuds/ivebeenthinkingtoomuch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>America is supposed to be the land of  Freedom and Opportunity. A place where even orphan immigrants can make a difference. But, when Alex's chance at a bright future are constantly crushed, the Washingtons may be his last chance as a shot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Step Foreward

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Rise Up](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6080439) by [ohNooOOOOoo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohNooOOOOoo/pseuds/ohNooOOOOoo). 



> Highly influenced off of Rise Up by ohNooOOOOoo. Shit was tight. Wish I could match it.

The cold could suck his ass. Alex didn’t think he could stand another hour and a half in the tore up Honda Civic while the shit of a social worker next to him refused to turn on the heat. Something about wasting gas, he had said.

He was on his way to his new “home” with the Washington’s. George and Martha, he’d been told, along with another kid whose name was pretty long. Alex would have tried to memorize it if he thought he’d be staying there long, but that didn’t seem likely. Past events that all held a similar element had robbed him of the luxury of security and hope. He knew better. He was smart and learned quickly enough how things worked in the US of A. He knew the people in the foster system, how they operated, how they tricked, lied, cheated…

‘No’ he breathed, his stomach shaking a bit as he pushed his diaphragm’s limit. ‘Do not focus on the past. Focus on here. Focus on now.’ Another deep breath, and then another, both shaky and finally catching the social workers eye. He tapped Alex’s knee, which caused him to jump in his seat. His head probably would have hit the roof of the car if his seat belt hadn’t locked up. The social work sighed, put out by him.

“Backpack’s behind my chair Hamilton. Write until we arrive at the Washington’s estate. I’ll give you a fifteen minutes heads up before we get there so you can finish your thoughts.” He droned, obviously being informed of Alex’s nervous habit to overthink and his constant need to write whenever possible. Alex waited to see if he was trying to trick him (the rational part of his brain spat back an ‘of course not!’) and when he saw that he wasn’t, slowly reached behind the mans seat to get his bag. Pulling the old, dingy JanSport onto his lap, he pushed the few articles of clothing aside and firmly grasped at the worn and tattered journal that had accompanied him since his days in St.Croix.

He was told to write.

So he wrote.

***

“Alex.”

“…”

“Alexander”

“…”

“Alexander Hamilton.”

The agent received no response still as he held open the young mans door. They’d arrived at the Washington’s a couple of minutes ago, and he had given the young man the fifteen minutes of warning as promised, but it all seemed to fall on deaf ears. He didn’t want to touch the kid again. He’d read the file and now he’d seen how jumpy he was once any form of physical contact was initiated. But the day would not wait for Alexander Hamilton, and neither would he. He moved his hand forward, careful not to touch Alexander, and placed his hand in front of the oncoming pen as it dashed across the boys journal. Hamilton seemed perplexed at first, wondering how the road block had appeared without his knowing. The agent sighed.

“Alexander.”

“Yes?”

“We’re here.” At this, Alex looked bewildered, finally taking in his surroundings.

“So we are…” He mumbled, quickly closing his journal and shoving it back into his his bag before jumping out of the car. 

He would have shivered if it weren’t for the fact that the inside of the car felt only two degrees warmer than outside. He silently cursed the agent in his head for the lack of heat he’d provided him as he made his way up the magnificent driveway to the front doors. They were huge, a good three times taller than the agent at his side and painted a solid white. The whole house itself was intimidating and he wondered briefly if the people inside were just the same. Taking the heavy door knocker in his gloved hand, the social worker knocked three times before turning to Alex.

“Try and make this one work, yeah? They’re good people and deserve nothing but respect.” He clipped, making it seem like the past few months were all Alex’s fault.

‘ _They were_ ’

‘No they weren’t’ he thought back, his own inner voice not as loud or confident as it once was. Taking a deep breath, which burned his throat to no end, he crammed his hands deep in the pockets of his ripped up jeans. As he went to take another breath, the air got caught in his throat as he was startled to find the doors opening and revealing to people, both dressed casually and warm.

The man was physically intimidating, a good foot taller than Alex himself and filling in his warm sweater with clearly toned muscles. Air left his lungs quickly, and he tried desperately to get it back. ‘Get it together. You don’t know yet. Give it a chance.’

_‘You do know. You know exactly how this is gonna turn out.’_

_“_ Dear? Are you alright? You’ve gone awfully pale.” The woman next to the very intimidating man asked, a seemingly genuine look of concern on her face. Alex nodded tightly, unable to convince even himself that he was alright.

‘breathe breathe breathe breathe breathe’

_‘or choke’_

‘Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.’

Whether he did on purpose or accident, Alex will never know, but just then the social worker pulled the attention back to himself, taking off his right glove and extended it to the couple standing at the door.

“George, Martha, hope you're well. Work alright George?” He asked, shaking both of their hands and receiving polite smiles in return. George nodded.

“It’s going just fine.”

“Wonderful to hear it. This is Alexander. Alexander, this is George and Martha Washington. You’ll be staying with them for the time being.”

“…”

“Alexander, please say he-“

“It’s okay, Chris.” George cut off the social worker, whose name was apparently Chris. “If Alexander doesn’t want to speak at the moment, I’m not going to force him. Are you nonverbal, son?”

Alex shook his head no and George nodded.

“I see. Then, you’ll talk when you’re ready and comfortable yes?” A quick nod and George smiled, turning back to Chris.

“See? We’re all good. Do we need to get his bags out of the car or-“

“I-“ Alex started and stopped as soon as all eyes were on him. He quickly diverted his own gaze to the ground and nodded with his head to his backpack on his shoulder.

“I’ve got it all right here.” He whispered, not daring to look up. He heard a ‘hm’ from Washington.

“Well then why don’t you two come inside and defrost a little?” Martha offered sweetly, moving so slightly out of the threshold to allow both him and Chris entrance. But Chris held up his hand in denial of the offer. 

“I’m afraid I can’t Martha. Alex was just my first drop off today and I’ve already over stayed my visit. You have my number if you need anything, right?” He asked the Washington’s. Alex couldn’t help but feel like this question would probably be better off directed at him, but he kept the words on his tongue at bay. He knew the consequences of talking back.

“We’ll be just fine Chris. Drive safe now.” George stated in a no nonsense kind of voice that made Alex’s heart beat jump. ‘They seem like they’re in a hurry to get rid of Chris…’

Darker thoughts waited with bated breath for their chance to strike, but Alex’s conscious was doing an incredible job at holding them at bay. Despite all of the heartbreak he’d suffered, he knew that if he let those thoughts take him, he’d be dead in the water. Scrunching his eyes closed, he took more deep breaths, though they seemed to be doing less and less in the last few hours. Noticing the lack of effective it was having on him, panic rose in his chest.

“Sweetheart, are you alright?” Martha questioned again, taking a step closer, which in turn caused Alex to startle backwards. She raised her hands as if to imply surrender as George watched with trained eyes. “Alexander, we’re not going to hurt you. Would you like to come inside to get warmed up?”

‘ _it’s a trick_ ’

‘But what if it’s not?’

‘ _that’d be a first_ ’

‘What should I do?

‘ _get it over with_ ’

He tucked his chin to his chest, avoiding their gazes yet again. A quiet “okay” passed his lips and he slowly shuffled inside. He didn’t mean to, but once the warm air hit his face, he let out an audible sigh of relief and relaxed into the newfound warmth. Martha had moved on ahead while George followed behind Alex to close the door. And lock it.

‘I can’t run’

‘ _you can’t run_ ’

‘I can’t fight him’

‘ _you’ll lose_ ’

His airways constricted like he was back out in the cold. The heat that had just relaxed him seemed to become nonexistent as shaking over took his body. The breathing wasn’t gonna help this one. A heavy hand fell on his shoulder and Alex all but jumped out of his skin, twisting out of the hold and falling to his knees a couple of feet away. George, though startled by his reaction, put his hands up the same Martha had done before coming into the house.

“My apologies Alexander. I didn’t mean to frighten you. You began shaking and your breathing was heavy. Do you need to sit down?” There was no slyness to his voice from what Alex could hear, but he wasn’t letting his guard down. Not now, and nowhere in the foreseeable future. He remained on the floor, not saying anything or moving a muscle. After what he assumed had to be a solid five minutes of silence, George spoke again.

“Would it be alright if I sat across from you?” He asked, gesturing slightly with one of his upraised hands. Still wary, Alex nodded, not once taking his eyes off of the large man. Washington lowered himself to the hardwood floor, his knees popping from stress as he did. It was strange, seeing such a strong and probably very proud and important man on the floor with a scrappy teenager from the Caribbean. Why he was wasting his time on a bastard orphan like him, he couldn’t understand.

“Would you like to establish some boundaries, Alexander?” This caught Alex off guard. ‘Boundaries?’he thought, ‘He’s asking if I want to set boundaries? What’s the catch?’ His confusion must have been visible as George started up again.

“Just some rules that we’d have to follow in order to make you more comfortable. Like-“

“Why do you care what I want?” He hadn’t meant for it to slip out and braced himself for impact. A snide comment. Chastisement. Anything.

…

Nothing came.

Looking at George, he seemed a little hurt at Alex’s words, but smiled at him anyway.

“We just want to do right by you is all. We don’t want to make you uncomfortable or for you to be afraid of us.” He offered, seeming genuine still. Alex spoke cautiously.

“I… don’t… liketobetouched.” His words grew quiet and compacted towards the end, but George seemed to have understood as he nodded his head solemnly. 

“Anything else? Anything that might back a bad memory or stir any possible panic attacks?”

‘Your voice. And your build. You’re terrifying.’ Alex thought in rapid succession, but once again held his tongue. ‘Water. Locked doors. Basements. Booze. Flashing lights. Storms.’ The list grew in his head and was becoming unbearable to keep track of.

“Alexander.” George called. Alex straightened his spine at the authoritative voice, mostly out of trained fear. But George’s eyes were soft. “No need to push it. If something comes up and you’re uncomfortable, you can tell me.” Alex nodded, cautious on whether or not to do just that.

Just then, Martha came back into the hall to see both her large husband and their new ward on the ground sitting across from one another. A smile spread across her face as she hoped that they could really help this boy. He seemed so bright and charismatic in his file. Him needing to be “disciplined” was not something she agreed with. Why Chris had told her that over the phone, she’ll never understand.

“George dear,” She called, startling both boys on the floor. “Why don’t you show Alex to his room. I’m sure he’s tired after traveling for as long as he did in that cramped old car.” George nodded, sending a kind smile to his wife before rising off of the hard ground with a mild “oof”. Alex rose too, quick to his feet, but slow to follow George.

The two made their way upstairs, George pointing out the library, office, master room, guest bath, the bathroom he’d be sharing with “Lafayette”, Lafayette’s room and finally…

“This’ll be you’re room.” He stated, moving aside for Alex to enter on his own. He did, always keeping an eye on George who had yet to try anything, but you never know.

The room was bigger than he could have ever imagined. Granted, so were the other rooms they had gone in, but he simply couldn’t believe that this room was his.

‘ _everything comes with a price_ ’

He had, supposedly all to himself, a huge queen bed with a fluffy gray comforter, a desk with a desktop computer, an entertainment system, a walk in closet, a dresser and a balcony that looked over the river behind the house. For the first time in a long time, he was speechless. Only, this time it wasn’t due to a bad memory or a panic attack.

“Everything okay?” George asked from the hall, never once leaving his spot in fear of making Alex uncomfortable. 

“Is… this…” he gestured to the massive room around him. George nodded.

“All yours.” He confirmed.

‘ _what’s the catch_ ’

“Are you hungry? Martha and I were just about to make lunch.” Alex shook his head. He was, of course, but his stomach just couldn’t quite settle.

“Alright then. Lafayette should be here in an hour or so if you would like to meet them. Until then, you can unpack your things and get settled. Explore the grounds if you’d like. The offer for lunch still stands too.” And with that, George had left him to his devices.

Alex unpacked the few things he had. As his hand reached his journal, he stopped. To risk it being out? Or to hide it? He decided on the latter, sliding it carefully under the entertainment system. Enough to be hidden, but still reachable if you grabbed it just right. With his clothes away, his journal hidden, and his backpack limp and empty on the floor he made a move towards the bed in hopes of catching up on some seriously needed sleep. As he touched the sheets however, his hand recoiled at how soft they were. Too soft. In more of an act of compulsion, he turned right around and sat in the plush rolling chair in front of the desk. Still too soft for his own good, but it turned out that that was exactly what he needed, as he quickly shut his heavy eyes and drifted off into a fitful sleep.


	2. EVERYONE GIVE IT UP FOR AMERICAS FAVORITE FIGHTING FRENCH PERSON!!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> LAFAYETTE!!! Yes, Laf make's their appearance in this chapter! So excited!!!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations are at the end in the notes.

“So, their name is Alexander Hamilton and-“

“Alright boys, I’ve got one veggie burger and four meat lover deluxe’s. Whose is whose?” A man with severe stubble and a disgustingly grease stained shirt asked, the tray in his hand piled high with burgers and fries.

“He and I both have two meat lovers.” John said, gesturing to Hercules and himself. “And _they_ have the veggie burger.” He pointed to Lafayette, aggressively adding an immense amount of infliction to the word “they”.

The man with the tray ignored him and delivered their food without another word. He turned to leave with a quick “Enjoy your meal boys,” before entering the kitchen. Herc and John went to stand to say something but Lafayette grabbed both of their shirts and pulled them back into their seats.

“Ça va,” they soothed their two friends. “Just let it go for now so we can eat, oui?” to which both John and Herc nodded before taking huge bites out of their monstrously meaty sandwiches.

“Seriously,” John grumbled with a mouth full of burger. “How hard is it to use gender neutral greetings anyways?” Herc nodded in a agreement before turning back to address Laf.

“So, you were saying that your new foster sibling’s name was Alexander Hamilton and…?”He prompted, letting Lafayette continue where they left off. They held up a finger in order to signify that they needed a moment to finish the bite they’d just taken before starting up where they’d left off.

“-And we’re their seventh house since moving to the states a little less than half a year ago. They should be heretoday or tomorrow at the latest.” John frowned at this last statement in confusion.

“Seven houses in six months? Are they, like, a ‘delinquent’ or something?” He asked, his hands dropping his burger in order to create air quotations around the word “delinquent”. Herc took the chance to speak up, covering his full mouth with his free hand.

“S’not always the case. The foster/adoption system’s kinda messed up. While there’s a chance they could be a ‘delinquent’ as you put it, there’s a higher probability that it was the families they were with that drove them out.” Hetook a sip from his soda, which Laf in turn took as a chance to add in their two cents.

“And while we’ve not been given Alexanders full records, we’ve seen from their past that they’ve dealt with severe trauma from a young age as well as suffering some forms of abuse from at least half of the houses they’d stayed at.”

John nodded, trying to take in as much information as he could. Coming from a privileged family, he was still learning about the real world and its cruelties. Though he could live the rest of his life in blissful ignorance, like his father, he thought it selfish to do so. Befriending Hercules and Lafayette had helped him to get out of his comfort zone on more than one occasion-

A harsh buzzing came from Laf’s phone on the table. Wiping their hands before picking itup carefully. While reading the text, their mouth split into a wide grin before quickly texting back a response.

“Who is it?” Herc asked, peering over Laf’s shoulder to try and see the the contact. They popped his shoulder playfully with a solid “Curieux” added for good measure.

“It’s Martha, since you’re so curious. Alexander arrived at noon today and has been sleeping ever since. She wanted to let me know not to bring you two over, seeing as we always break the sound barrier when we’re in the same room together.”

“Laf, that’s what happens when you go fast, not when-“

“Hush Laurens. I do not need your scientific nonsense today.” They said, silencing John with ahaughtily raised hand which only made the latter giggle.

“My apologies, oh great Marquis.” he faked a bow, getting a snort and chuckle out of Hercules. Laf scoffed before throwing their napkins at the two of them and grabbing their messenger bag from off of their chair. Through his laughing, Hercules managed to call out to them.

“Wait Laf! Come back!.” He said in between giggles. While Lafayette usually wouldn’t resist their charming friends offer, they really needed to get home.

“Not today mon grand. I’m off to meet my new sibling!” They said with a cheery smile, all facade of anger falling away easily. Herc nodded but looked mildly disappointed.

“Text us to let us know you got home safe.”

“Bien sûr.”

***

As Laf walked through the garage door, they called out to their parents.

“Martha! George! Accueil Je suis!” Their voice echoing off of the high ceilings.

“We’re in the den, dear!” They heard Martha call back. They dropped off their bag at the bottom of the stairs before jogging into the room to find both Martha and George reading their own separate books by the fire place. They walked over to hug and kiss both them on the cheek, excitement buzzing throughout their entire body.

 

“Où est Alexander? Sont-ils éveillés? Puis-je les rencontrer?” Laf asked quickly. While George was still translating in his head, Martha didn’t miss a beat in responding. 

“Alexander is up in his bedroom. He’s been sleeping ever since he arrived, and while I would love for you two to be acquainted, I’d prefer he got his rest instead.” She said, not looking up from her book once. George nodded in agreement, thankful for his wife’s quick and honest response. He knew how Lafayette was and thought that Alexander probably wouldn’t be too keen on waking up to the embodiment of energy itself. Lafayette’s mouth turned from an excited smile to a pout once Martha was done, a little deflated at the fact that they’d have to wait a little longer in order to meet their new sibling and the anticipation was killing them.

“But,” she continued. “If he’s not awake before dinner, you can be the one to wake him. Just make sure that you do so gently, alright?” Laf nodded enthusiastically before charging over to give Martha another kiss on the cheek and heading out of the den.

“Of course, Martha. I’ll be as calm as can be, no need to worry about that.” Laf chuckled, close to making their way out of the room. George put down his book and called them back.

“Now just a second, Laf.” He said, catching their attention at the last second. “I need to let you know something. Alexander told me, before I showed him his room, his boundaries he’d like us to respect for now.”

“Oh.” Laf said simply, their attention back on their adoptive father. “Of course George. I would never want to make them uncomfortable. What is it?”

“He told me that he does not enjoy physical contact. I really need you to keep this in mind, seeing as I know you’re a very physically affectionate person.” He warned, eyes trained on Laf, who only nodded solemnly in response.

“Je comprends, George. I do not want to make Alexander uncomfortable in the slightest and am more than willing to respect their boundaries. Anything else I should know?” Laf asked, raising an eyebrow. George shook his head.

“I asked that verbatim as well, and he didn’t say anything else. I feel like there are a few other things that bother him, but I didn’t want to press the issue so soon after him arriving. We’ll just need to give him time is all.” George finished and Lafayette nodded.

“Of course. I will watch my step and make sure I don’t do anything that might upset them. I’m going to go and work on some homework before dinner.” They said, turning slightly signaling their departure yet again. George and Martha both nodded and smiled at them.

“I think that’s a wonderful idea, dear.” She said with a warm smile. “Dinner will be ready around six thirty, okay?” She called.

“Okay. I’ll be down then!” They called, their light foot steps fading as they ascended the stairs.

***

_“Martha! George! Accueil Je suis!”_

The loud voice from downstairs had startled Alex out of his light sleep. He was still in the rolling chair at his new desk, his left hand holding up his head as he slept. Groggily, he looked at the shiny new desktop monitor and saw that it was half past three in the afternoon. He wondered what all the commotion was downstairs when a rapid succession of French met his ears.

_“Où est Alexander? Sont-ils éveillés? Puis-je les rencontrer?”_

Quickly translating in his head,Alexander was puzzled. Who exactly wanted to meet him? And why were they using gender neutral pronouns? He then heard Martha answer whoever it was asking the questions. Saying something about not disturbing him. Him, of all people.

‘Why do they care so much?’

_‘a good question_ ’

_“Now just a second, Laf.”_ Alex heard an unmistakeable masculine voice call. George. Though he hadn’t shown any real signs of aggression since Alex had arrived, that didn’t mean he wasn’t just like the others who had taken him in. It had only been a few hours since his arrival and he wasn’t letting his guard down no matter what. But, his question was answered as to who the excited french speaker was. Their other adopted son, Lafayette.

_“…does not enjoy physical contact. I really need you to keep this in mind, seeing as I know you’re a very physically affectionate person.”_ He caught the end of what George was telling Lafayette and couldn’t help but be embarrassed. He was probably going think Alex was some weirdo and wouldn’t want to even be associated with him.

_‘look, you’re even stopping their son from being himself just to make_ **_you_ ** _comfortable. he probably hates you.’_

‘He’ll just act however he wants anyway while the Washington’s backs are turned. It’s not like he should change who he is for my sake anyways.’

But the next thing out of Lafayette’s mouth was even more surprising.

_“Je comprends, George. I do not want to make Alexander uncomfortable in the slightest and am more than willing to respect their boundaries. Anything else I should know?”_

_‘what?’_

‘What?’

“What?” Alex murmured without even realizing. This kid actually wanted him to be comfortable?

‘ _its a trick. hes just trying to figure out the things that send you over the edge in order to make sure you dont get in his way.’_

‘Or maybe he really cares?’

_‘dont be ridiculous’_

Distracted by his thoughts, Alexander didn’t notice the sound of footsteps until they were half way up the stairs. Drawing out his breaths and closing his eyes, he made it seem as if he were still asleep. He heard the light footsteps draw ever closer until they were in front of his door. His heart sped up as there was a long moment of silence before a quiet accented voice spoke into what he could only assume to be a phone.

“Non, they’re still asleep… I’m not bothering them, Hercules. Martha said she wanted Alexander to get rest… Small. Very small, with long black hair… I think they’re latinx, but I can’t be entirely sure…”

Lafayette was describing him? To the mythical demigod son of Zeus and Alcmene? This was a strange place indeed… He may not be an outlier for once-

“I will call you later with an update. I’ll let you know what they say at dinner.” And with that there was a quiet beep and Alex assumed the phone call was over. He waited for the sound of Lafayette’s footsteps to fade away from his room, but only silence stood in the air. A few moments later, he heard Lafayette walk towards, then passed him to what he thought was the bed. Within seconds, the same too soft blanket he had denied himself prior to his nap could be felt draping around his right shoulder and covering all but his face and his left arm. He startled a bit at this, but kept that facade of sleep. While he wasn’t cold, the extra heat the blanket provided was more than welcome, and without meaning to he sighed contently. He heard Lafayette chuckle quietly.

“Dormez bien , mon petit Alexander.”

And with that, Lafayette was out of his room and, without meaning to, he was fast asleep yet again.

***

“Alexander…”

Alexander faintly heard his name being called, but he was still fairly deep in sleep. The voice was one he had heard no too long ago. A young mans voice, a little raspy but still gentle and warm. If he weren’t so far under, he’d be on edge. But why would he be on edge-

New state. New house. New family. All of this and more came flooding back into Alexander’s conscious mind and he all but jumped out of his chair. Solid, strong hands caught him by his shoulders, but let go almost immediately once he was balanced on his feet. His wide eyes met a matching pair that belonged to the same person who had caught him. A young man with large and curly hair pulled into a tight ponytail stood in front of him. He was a good head taller than Alex at the very least and held a solid fifty or more pounds on him in muscle. The surprised face of the young man turned into a kind smile that was too gentle to fake.

“Je suis désolé for scaring you, Alexander. That was not my intent in the slightest. I’m Lafayette, George and Martha's other ward. And to let you know, how is it, ‘right off the bat’? I think I’m using that correctly, I use gender neutral pronouns like ‘They/Them/Their’. And you?” They asked, Alex made a mental note not to mis-gender them anymore in his head. He could see now why they were using those pronouns on him earlier.

“He/ him pronouns.” Was all that left his mouth. So much for the genius of St. Croix.

_‘where are all of those beautiful words now, alexander?’_

“Alexander?” Laf asked. Clearly, Alex had missed whatever they’d asked him and mentally cursed himself out for his negligence.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that.” He mumbled embarrassed, but Laf only smiled brightly at him and nodded.

“It’s quite alright. I was just asking if you were hungry? Dinner will be ready in a minute or two and Martha wanted me to wake you seeing as you missed out on lunch.” They offered. Before Alex could decline, his body betrayed him as his stomach let out an unearthly growl. Lafayette let out ahearty chuckle and slapped his knee in amusement.

“Mon Dieu, I suppose that’s a yes! Come along, Alexander. Let us feed the beast inside of you.” Laf started out the door and offered and an arm for Alex’s shoulders. When he hesitated, Laf drew it back to their side.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I know you do not like being touched. It’s just a habit of mine, I’m afraid.”

“No need to apologize. You don’t have to change your mannerisms simply because I’m here.” Alexander responded quickly. Lafayette, whether because of their kind demeanor or similar immigrant status, had won Alexander over within a matter of hours. He didn’t want them to change for him. But Laf shook their head.

“Non. I want to make sure you’re are not uncomfortable. If that means keeping to myself then-“

“It’s not your touch I’m afraid of.” The damn words had left his mouth without meaning to for the second time that day, and he wanted the floor to open up and swallow him whole. Lafayette waited expectantly for Alex to continue. When he didn’t, they spoke instead.

“May I ask a question?”

“Do I reserve the right to refuse an answer if it’s too personal?” Alexander shot back instantly, half testing the waters with his new sibling, half ensuring his own safety.

“Of course.” Lafayette replied, a slight smirk playing on their lips as they secretly admired Alex’s quick thinking. Once Alex nodded for Lafayette to continue, they did.

“Whose touch are you afraid of, if not mine?”

Alex took a moment to collect the words to properly phrase his answer.

“In my past, I’ve had difficulty with older people, usually older males, and physical touch. People my age, while they have posed a threat, do not pose as much of a threat as the adult males I mentioned before have. While I’m still not too open to a lot of physical contact, small exchanges such as the one you offered before do not pose as much of a threat. So long as I’m aware of your intentions, there won’t be any issues whatsoever.” Once he was done, a low approving whistle left Lafayette as they stared at him with clear admiration donning their face.

“You could be quite the lawyer, Alexander. Would it be alright if I embraced you?” They asked. While still reluctant, Alexander nodded his head. Laf placed their arm around his shoulders, the weight oddly comforting. Protective, he would say.

“I’d actually like to be one. I used to read a lot of law books for fun when I was younger.” He admitted, walking with Lafayette to the stairs. Laf looked both surprised and impressed.

“Quelle? As a child? That’s quite the feat!” Lafayette praised, creating a very visible blush across Alex’s cheeks. He was going to respond with a “Not really” when a booming voice called up from downstairs.

“Kids? Are you coming down for dinner?” George’s assertive tone struck Alexander’s ears like a a sludge hammer to a bell, making him freeze in his tracks. Lafayette noticed immediately.

“Dans un moment, papa!” Laf called, not as loud as George, but their voice seemed to have reached his ears as clanking resumed in the kitchen.

“Are you okay, Alexander?” 

“I-uh-“ He stuttered, trying to collect his scrambled thoughts and slow his now erratic breathing. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to regain control, when Lafayette pulled him close to their side.

“Do you want to sit for a second?”

He nodded. They both took a seat on the stairs, Alex calming down slowly but surely. After a minute passed and he showed a little improvement, Laf asked a question.

“You mentioned before about your experience with older men, oui?”

Alex nodded, eyes still shut.

“Does George’s voice frighten you? You can be honest, mon petit. I will not be upset.”

Delayed, Alex nodded again. Slower this time, almost timid. Lafayette made an “Mmhmm” sound of recognition and began rubbing between his shoulder blades, steadying his breathing and calming him down even more so.

“I see why you are afraid, Alexander. George can be rather intimidating at first glance. But he is un ours en peluche. A big softie. And, though it may not help, I can assure you that he will not harm you in any way, shape, or form. Okay?”

Alex wanted to believe Lafayette, but his mind knew better and just couldn’t let that happen. Though he’d only been in the foster system for half a year, he’d learned how these situations usually went down. They were nice at first, in order to disarm him, then it began slowly, almost unnoticeable, with a few words, maybe a couple of physical actions. He was already mentally hitting himself for letting his guard down with Lafayette-

“Alex?” They asked again, and he nodded, though he knew it was a blatant lie. It seemed to appease Lafayette for now as they stood back up, offering their arm once again. Even more reluctant than before, Alex allowed himself to be draped in the taller one’s appendage, though he made sure to keep his distance. They reached the bottom of the stairs and rounded the corner of kitchen. Immediately, he was hit in the face with smell of spices and cooked meat that made his mouth salivate. He made sure not to show it as he stood with Lafayette in the threshold. Martha saw them first and smiled.

“There you two are. How did you sleep Alexander?” she asked, sweetly enough.

“Well. Thank you.” He offered quickly and she nodded, seeming satisfied.

“Of course, dear. I’m sure you’re exhausted after your trip. Hungry?” She asked, facing away from the two of them, setting a pan of chicken on the the dinner table.

“A little.”

“A little?! The lion in your belly would say otherwise!” Laf called from the table where they were setting up silver. Without meaning to, Alex let out a little chuckle.

‘Damn’

_‘dont get too comfortable’_

‘I know.’

“Well, dinner’s ready when you are. Go ahead and take a seat at the table.” She gestured in a circle for him to take any seat. He settled for the one in between Laf and the wall. As he was sitting down, George came in greeted them both.

“Hello you two. Did you sleep well, Alexander?”

Alex nodded, eyes darting straight to the ground.

“Glad to hear it, son.”

‘I’m not your son’

_‘im not your son’_

For now, he kept those words at bay. He wasn’t trying to start anything on his first night, seeing as he had already been a lazy burden, what with him sleeping away the afternoon. George sat across from Lafayette, and Alex wondered if the man could sense his unease. Martha sat across from him, and once she was seated, her,George and Lafayette began scooping food on their plates. There was an abundance of steamed green beans, sweet potatoes, salad, and then the seasoned chicken he had smelled before all splayed out in front of him. Once everyone else had filled their plate, he took a single chicken breast and a small sweet potato and placed them on his plate. Lafayette noticed and nudged him gently.

“Vous devriez prendre plus.” they whispered. George looked up at them as they did.

“Laf-“he was going to say that Alexander probably did’t understand French when the younger boy surprised him

“Je suis plus que satisfait de ce que je dois.” He said back quickly without a moments hesitation and began eating slowly. George raised his eyebrows, more than impressed.

“Wow. I was unaware that you were bilingual, Alex. That’s quite impressive.” He complimented, hoping to strike up a conversation. Alex nodded at first but then murmured something too quiet for George to hear.

“What was that?” He asked, trying extra hard to make his voice gentle and welcoming instead of its usual assertive bark. Alex swallowed his food, took a drink and restated.

“Trilingual, actually, sir.” He kept his eyes on his food, or lack thereof anyway.

“Really? What other language?” Laf asked, all eyes on Alex now.

“Spanish.”

“That’s quite impressive indeed Alex.” Martha piped in, offering a kind smile.Once he began fidgeting under everyone’s gaze, Laf decided to help him out.

“Oh! Martha, George. Hercules, John, and I were going to go to the mall tomorrow. Is that okay?” They asked, to which George gave a quick nod.

“Of course Laf. Just try and keep away from any trouble, okay?”

“Oui , le général.” They offered George an exaggerated salute, to which he only rolled his eyes and ruffled Laf’s ponytail playfully. Laf then turned to Alex.

“Would you like to come as well?” They offered. Alex pondered for a moment.

“If not dear, you can stay here. That’s completely fine. And George, I believe, is home tomorrow. Right?” Martha asked, looking to her husband who nodded, offering Alex an attempt at a warm smile.

“I’ll go with Laf.” He spat out quickly. “I-If that’s okay, of course.” He added, looking down yet again. George nodded seemingly understanding.

“Oh, maybe while you two are out, you can do some of Alex’s shopping?” Martha offered, causing Laf to take in the biggest gasp humanly possible.

“Oh, of course Martha. With Hercules’ eye for fabric, and my sense of fashion, our Alexander will be dressed, how you say, ’to the nines’, no?”

“I really don’t need anything-“

“Alexander, I will not take no for an answer.” Laf said firmly, their smile still on their face.

“Okay.” He said, trying his best to keep his voice from sounding reluctant. Laf all but squealed with glee.

Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations  
> Oui= Yes  
> Non=No
> 
> Ça va= It's okay  
> Curieux= Nosey  
> mon grand= my big guy (endearing)  
> Bien sûr= Of course  
> Accueil Je suis=I'm home  
> Où est Alexander? Sont-ils éveillés? Puis-je les rencontrer?= Where is Alexander? Are they awake? Can I meet them?  
> Je comprends= I understand  
> Dormez bien , mon petit Alexander= Sleep well, my little Alexander  
> Je suis désolé= I am sorry  
> Mon Dieu=My God  
> Quelle= What  
> Dans un moment, papa= In a moment, Dad.  
> un ours en peluche= a teddy bear  
> Vous devriez prendre plus= You should take more  
> Je suis plus que satisfait de ce que je dois= I am more than satisfied with what I have  
> Oui , le général= Yes, general
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed the second chapter! I really want to get the third one out sooner rather than later.Our boy needs to meet Laurens!!!!! Feel free to leave any feedback or constructive criticism. Both are appreciated. If you want to come and hang out with me on tumblr, my url is https://www.tumblr.com/blog/ivebeenthinkingwaytoomuch . It's my side/writing blog, so it's not very active. But if you have requests or want to chat, I'm more than willing!


	3. Not A Chapter But An Update

I'm sorry I haven't updated, but I'm going to tell you why. I know a lot of you don't want to hear about this anymore, but I need to address it, because it hit so close to home. It happened in my backyard, pretty much and I've lost people that I care about deeply. On Sunday morning, 49 lives were taken from this Earth for no other reason than their sexual orientation. You can argue that it was terrorism, but you cannot deny that it was directed to a minority group, that group being the LGBT+ community. I lost two friends and coworkers who were and still are very dear to me. I am heartbroken and I am sad and I'm sorry that I allowed this to affect my writing. I know people who read stories on this site come to escape the harsh realities of the world, but it just hurts so much. 

I'll be traveling tomorrow out of Orlando and to Washington D.C. I'll most likely get some writing done on the plane. The change in scenery will momentarily distract me from this weekends events and I can rest emotionally. There WILL be a chapter that mentions Orlando later on, mostly because I cannot and will not forget it. I will not let this violent crime against this community be swept under the rug. I've called and emailed and even tweeted at my senators in the hopes of getting them to at least think about changing the gun laws/ LGBT+ protection laws. I'm sorry if you're tired of hearing this. I just needed to let you all know what I'm dealing with right now. And I apologize to any unanswered messages. They'll be answered by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. 

I love you all. Thank you for taking the time to read my work. Please stay safe, but don't forget to be unapologetically you. This is not the time to cower in fear, but to rise above the situation. Again, be safe and take care of yourselves and know that I care about all of you so much. Thanks again and hopefully the update will be up by Thursday at the latest.


	4. It's Ya Boy Laurens!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex meets John, but I'm awful so they don't meet until the end of the chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the love and support. It means the world to me, really. I'm sorry this took longer than I wanted it to, but at least it's here.
> 
>  
> 
> FAIR WARNING. While there have been consistent mentions of abuse in the past chapters, it's clearly referenced here. Just a word of caution.

The conversation for the rest of dinner was a comfortable lull with everyone going around the table and taking turns to talk about their day. Lafayette did most of the talking, while George and Martha would nod or put in a word of interest or approval. During the recounting of everyones day, Martha had placed two more chicken breasts on Alexanders plate. He had tried to deny them, but she silently insisted, nudging his plate closer to him before gently chastising Lafayette and their friends for getting into yet another argument with a Charles Lee. It wasn’t like Alex didn’t appreciate the food. His body knew it needed to take whatever it could get to survive. But his mind knew that with nourishment as good as this, a room to himself, new clothes and supplies, there’d be a huge price to pay. What it was yet, he wasn’t sure. The Washington's had’t made anything too obvious and part of him really wanted to believe that they were good people. But he just couldn’t. It would be like taking everything he had ever learned from being in America and just throwing it all away on the hope that everything would be okay.

Despite these thoughts, Alex finished both chicken breasts and almost wanted to sneak some for later, but he had gotten in trouble at his second and fourth house for pulling the same thing and didn’t want a repeat. He was the first one done, seeing as he was only using his mouth to eat and not add to the conversation like everyone else at the table. Lafayette looked from him to his empty plate, a questioning look on his face.

“Do you want anything else?” they asked, as if to make sure they were fully understanding what Alex seemed to be conveying. He shook his head.

“No, I’m alright. I couldn’t eat another bite if you paid me.”He lied. Being paid to eat would only be icing on the cake. But Laf nodded and picked up his plate and their own before making their way around the table and getting Martha’s and George’s as well.

“I can do the dishes, Laf.” George declared, following them to the sink and placing a heavy hand on their shoulder.

“But you cooked.” Laf stated matter of fact. They looked from George to Martha in confusion, and Alex couldn’t help but feel on edge at the exchange. Had he done something wrong? Had Laf done something wrong? What was going on?

It was right then that he’d wished he hadn’t eaten so much. Surely he’d be lethargic and unable to move with his usual speed and agility if anything were to-

“George and I will take care of the kitchen tonight. Why don’t you take Alex upstairs and show him where to find the towels and maybe how to work the shower.” Martha’s voice cut through Alex’s train of thought as she stood up with the tray of chicken and sweet potatoes. Laf seemed to understand and Alex couldn’t help but feel more uneasy as less and less words were being spoken between the family.

“Come Alexander. Let’s get you settled in for the night.” Lafayette offered their hand and Alex couldn’t help but think he took it a little less willingly every time it was offered. As the two made their way back upstairs, Alex could barely make out George and Martha talking to one another. But the sounds of running water and clinking dishes drowned them out.

***

Martha had just finished bringing all of the dishes over from the table as Alex and Lafayette turned the corner to head up the stairs. George looked like he was just washing dishes, but being married to him for so long, Martha knew the gears in his head were working over time to try and crack the conundrum that was Alexander Hamilton.

“I can hear you thinking, old man. Don’t make me drag it out of you.” She nudged his hip with her arm and he George couldn’t help but chuckle at how his wife always seemed to see how his mind worked even while he was still trying to figure something out.

“He’s trilingual.” Martha nodded.

“So I heard.” But George shook his head as if there was more to the thought.

“Martha.”

“George.” He sighed and she laughed at his loss for words.

“We know how incredibly smart he is. We know his dedication, what with all of his published works that got him out of St. Croix. So why-“

“Is he so reserved?” She finished for him and he all but slammed the still soapy dishes back into the sink as if they were a football and he had just scored the winning touchdown

“Yes! His passion is there! I heard him and Lafayette talking as they came down the stairs. This boy read law books for fun! No kid does that!” He began pacing in the kitchen, leaving Martha to pick back up with the dishes.

“I need to know what happened.” He stated firmly. But Martha shook her head.

“We said we wouldn’t pry, George. If Alexander wants to tell us, he’ll do so in his own time and not with us forcing it out of him.”

As much as she wanted to stick with her words, Martha was just as curious as George and twice as worried, if that were possible. The boy had been so sweet to Lafayette despite their rather abrasive personality and Lafayette seemed more than comfortable talking to him. If he was able to get along with them so well, surely he couldn’t be as troubled as they agency had claimed. This of course led her to believe that they weren’t receiving the whole truth about his “abuse”. His records stated that he had been physically reprimanded a handful of times from two of the houses, but other than that, **_Alexander_** was supposedly the cause of his own removal from the rest. It was noted that the multiple removal’s were due to him starting fights with the foster parents for “unknown reasons”which of course didn’t sit well with her at all and was clearly a distraction tactic and-

“Martha.” George’s deep voice brought her back to reality and she shook her head of the wretched thoughts. His face was questioning, almost waiting for her approval. She sighed.

“Look into it. But, if anything comes up-“

“We’ll let him tell us in his own time” He finished.

“Right.”

***

As he ascended the stairs, Alexander couldn’t help the pit of dread slowly growing in his stomach. Were George and Martha talking about him? Did they want him gone? Was there some unspoken agreement between Lafayette and them that if Alex annoyed them, he’d be gone? As the questions circled in his head, he caught just the end of Laf talking about where to find the towels.

“They’re not really well hidden, mon petit lion. There is a small closet next to the bathroom that holds both large and small towels. Feel free to grab as many as you need. As for the shower, it was installed incorrectly by none other than George himself. He installed it backwards, so hot is cold and cold is hot. I had to learn that the hard way when I first arrived.” Laf chuckled in remembering how their first shower was actually just them yelling french profanities at the shower and flipping the faucet back forth with little to no change in temperature. But Alex was just kind of staring off at the ground, not really paying attention and only nodding that he’d heard them. Taking action, Laf grabbed a wash cloth and a full sized towel from the closet and shoved them into Alex’s hands jarring him out of his stupor.

“Take your time in the shower. I will be picking out my outfit for tomorrow.” And with that, they walked into their room, leaving Alex alone with his thoughts.

As he stepped into the more than spacious bathroom, he quickly turned around and shut the door, locking it firmly and jiggled the handle to make sure it didn’t budge. While it didn’t show any sign that it would open, it did make a loud jingling sound and that was good enough for him. At least he’d have some form of warning if-

It was at that exact moment Alex realized that he hadn’t grabbed a spare change of clothes before entering that bathroom. He certainly couldn’t chance walking out into the hallway with just a towel. Quietly, he unlocked the bathroom door and peered his head out into the empty hallway. He could still hear voices and clanking dishes downstairs as well as Laf’s voice from their room, where they seemed to be bickering back forth in French with… themself? Quickly, he dashed into his room, if he could call it that, and grabbed a shirt, a pair of jeans and some boxers. While he only slept in his boxers, he wasn’t going to risk a repeat situation of one of his… less favorable foster experiences.

Back in the bathroom, back with a locked door, Alex turned on the hot water, remembering to turn it to the cold side so as to not experience what Lafayette had during their first shower. While he didn’t mind a cold shower here and there, he wasn’t really looking for one right as the snow was starting to settle outside. Taking off his shirt, Alexander couldn’t help but look at his body with shame at the numerous bruises and scars that were now painted across his torso. The bruises from the last family, the Summers, were still mostly red and just starting to get a sickening shade of black and purple in the center. His eyes wandered to his left bicep where a gross looking scab in the shape of a circle lay. To the untrained eye, it might look like he had just picked at his skin or was just starting to get a case of the chicken pox. As his fingers light brushed the still healing wound, his mind launched back to just two weeks prior.

 

 

_He hadn’t notice Clark come home until the smell of cigarettes and booze met his nose and it crinkled out of instinct. He was at the dinner table, as he was told that that was where all of the kids were supposed to do their homework, so that Clark could keep and eye on them at all times. But the fact of the matter was that Clark was hardly ever home, leaving either Alex or the other eldest foster kid, a white kid named Leo, to feed and clean the younger kids._

_Clark circled the table, making Alex’s mind compare him to a predator circling its prey before pouncing. When he finally stopped and looked over Alex’s shoulder at the science problem he was working on, a question for his physics class, he huffed and shoved Alex’s shoulder, causing him to mess up the formula he was writing. Alex said nothing and simply erased the damage done. But before he could continue on with his work, he felt his arm being nearly pulled out of its socket by Clark’s meaty hand._

_“Where are the three youngest?” He barked, spit flying from his mouth, the alcohol on his breath almost enough to knock Alex unconscious._

_“Leo went to go and pick them up from after care. They should be home in about half an hour or so.” He responded dutifully, though every fiber of his being wanted to tell Clark to shove it. The man grumbled something about him being useless before releasing his grip on his arm and causing him to fall to the ground. He didn’t really notice the burning in his shoulder due to the ache he now felt on his side he’d been dropped on. Clark lit one of his Marlboros that he kept in all of the tiny nooks and crannies of the house and kept staring at Alex who was slowly rising from the ground._

_“Why couldn’t you have gotten them?” He asked, his voice hinting that there was really no right answer to his question. Alex shrugged, not making eye contact._

_“Leo volunteered. He’d made it home first and was done with his work before I was.” Clark scoffed at him._

_“Why they let your fucking ass into the country, I’ll never know. You won the hearts of some snotty rich people cause of your writing, right?” Reluctantly, Alex nodded. Clark bent down so that their noses were almost touching and blew a mouthful of smoke onto Alex’s face._

_“So how is it you’re so goddamn stupid?”_

_“I’m_ not _stupid!” Alex all but screamed at him. He could take a lot of things in this world, but people insulting his intelligence wasn’t one of them. It actually seemed to surprise Clark that he responded with such emotion and energy that he hadn’t seemed to have the entire time he’d been in his custody. Clark made no move to correct his behavior, and that scared him._

_Then, quick as a whip, he grabbed his arm and-_

 

 

The quiet sound of his own crying brought Alex back to the present. The bathroom was slowly filling with steam, so he could no longer see his reflection. He thought that that was for the better, wiping his eyes and jumping into the hot stream of water. He made quick work of his hair and body, though he was careful of any forming bruises and healing cuts and scrapes. He dressed himself in the same fashion, his clothes sticking to his still damp body as well as his hair clinging uncomfortably to the back of his neck. He tied it up roughly in a ponytail before dumping his worn clothes into his room and plopping back down into the office chair he’d slept in earlier and waited.

He waited. He waited for Laf to finally stop whatever it was that they were doing. He waited for the heavy footsteps of George to come up the stairs followed by the lighter, daintier steps of Martha to follow. Waited for the sounds of water across the hall to start. To stop. He waited for the sounds of goodnights that they would exchange between each other. He waited for the lights that shone underneath the door to turn off. And he waited. And waited. And waited…

Until the monitor to his right shone 1:45 AM. Then, he got up from his seat and slowly closed his door. Tiptoeing, he made his way to the entertainment center not too far from the door and reached under until his hands met familiar leather. Pulling out his journal, he set himself back into his chair and began to write.

***

It wasn’t until his eyes noticed the change in strain before Alex looked at the monitor again. the numbers 7:36 shone at him and he couldn’t help but feel exhausted. He’d written a solid twenty pages in his journal in the past six hours. Not his best, but certainly not his worst. If it kept the memories at bay, he was willing to do anything short of murder. To be fair, even that wasn’t completely out of the equation. 

The sound of footsteps made his ears twitch and he held his breath. They were light, but not as dainty as Martha’s had been a few hours previous. He assumed that since they weren’t as solid as George’s had been, and surely his feet would be heavier with sleep, that they could only belong to Lafayette. Sure enough, soft knocking came from his door as the tired French teens voice came through, muffled by the door.

“Alexander? Puis-je entrer?”

Alex stood and slowly opened the door, revealing to be, as he expected, a very tired and disheveled Lafayette. Their curly hair had completely fallen out of their ponytail in their sleep, resulting in an all encompassing fluff ball that surrounded their face. They smiled/yawned/nodded at Alex before questioning with their eyes once again if they could come in. Alex returned the nod and moved to side to permit entry. Once inside, Laf made their way to Alex’s still made bed and plopped down.

“How long have you been awake?” They asked, rubbing their eyes lazily. Alex shrugged.

“Not too long. Why?”

“Because the bed has remained untouched.” They stated and Alexander looked down in shame. “Did you sleep at all Alexander? You can be honest with me. I will not be upset either way.” Laf reaffirmed their support and Alex couldn’t help but sigh in defeat at being caught.

“Yeah, no, I didn’t sleep last night. Too much nervous energy, you know?” He asked, rocking back and forth on his feet, his hands twitching as he waited for Laf’s response. The latter responded with a tired hum.

“I know all too well. Being in a new home and in a new state can be quite unnerving. But Alexander, you must promise me something, mon petit.” Laf’s voice turned serious and they sat up so that they could stare Alex straight on.

“What would you like me to promise you, Laf?”

“The next time you are awake all night long, come and get me.” This was not what Alex was expecting.

“What?” He asked, a little too loudly for seven in the morning. With the fatigue of sleep still affecting them, Lafayette lazily reached out and grabbed Alex’s hand, rubbing soothing circles into his palm. Not experiencing such a kind gesture in so long, it took quite a lot of effort to hold back his flooding emotions.

“Tu n'es pas seul. D’accord?” And Alex nodded.

“D’accord.” A chuckle escaped Laf.

“Maybe ‘d’accord’ will be our always.” And at that, they had to cover their mouth to cover their growing fit of giggles. Both a quirked eyebrow and a smile played on Alexanders face, as he didn’t really understand what Lafayette was referencing, but the French teens joy was just too infectious. Upon seeing his face, Lafayette quirked their own eyebrow in response.

“Have you not seen ‘The Fault In Our Stars’ mon cher?” They asked and Alex shook his head no. Feigning insult, Lafayette’s hand flew to their chest in quite the dramatic fashion.

“Dites-moi ce n'est pas vrai! You wound me, Alexander!” They cried and a round of giggles finally escaped Alex. Laf grinned in victory.

“Well, no matter then. We can always watch it after our little excursion today.” They decided, hopping off of the bed and making their way to the door once again.

“Yeah okay. That’s fine with me.” Alex agreed, throwing on his one hoodie that he’d laid out sometime during the night. When his head popped through the neck hole, he saw Laf staring at him disapprovingly.

“What? What’s wrong?” He started checking himself over, trying to see if there were any stains that might look a little unsavory-

“That is not your color.” They stated simply. He shook his head.

“It doesn’t have to be ‘my color’, Laf. It just has to keep me warm.” But Lafayette’s disapproving look didn’t waver.

“And does it keep you warm, Alexander?” At this, Alex didn’t respond. Laf sighed and shook their head before heading towards their room. They came back second later with a plush forest green hoodie that was a size too big for them. They handed it to Alexander, who was wary to take it.

“Laf, I can’t take your clothes.” But the hoodie was shoved towards him yet again.

“You are not taking it, mon ami. You are simply borrowing it. We’ll find you some warmer clothes while we’re out shopping. But we will never _go_ shopping if you continue to be stubborn and refuse my wonderfully warm pull.”

“Alright, fine.” He huffed, taking it in his hands and exchanging it with the one he was currently wearing. While he felt content with his original hoodie, the warm bliss that overtook him when he put Laf’s on was indescribable. Like being wrapped in summer. 

“Now that that’s settled, I will get ready and we’ll get going.”

***

The drive to the mall was quiet, save for Lafayette’s seemingly never ending playlist of French pop songs that they knew every word to. Alex felt mildly uncomfortable being in such a nice car alone with someone. He was slowly beginning to _really_ trust Lafayette, seeing them as an ally and confidant. But his anxiety persisted despite what he thought of them, and he couldn’t help but let out an audible sigh as they pulled into the mall parking lot. He jumped out of the car a little too quickly, nearly eating it as he slipped on a small patch of ice. He played it off though, and Laf was none the wiser.

“Oh Alexander, I cannot wait for you to meet mes amis! I feel like you will really enjoy them. Hercules will be a little intimidating, but he is all bark and no bite. John on the other hand can be a bit rash, but he is still wonderful and kind so long as nobody pisses him off-“

“Lafayette you French fuck!” A booming voice called from across the parking lot startling Alex, nearly causing him to slip on the _same patch of ice._ Laf turned around too and, seemingly out of instinct, held their middle finger high in the air for anyone passing by to see. The same voice that had called to them suddenly let out a booming laugh that surpassed their previous statement’s decibel levels.

Alex turned to see two guys heading their way. A large, stocky guy in a beanie who he assumed was Hercules seeing as he _was_ pretty intimidating just to look at. The other one, shorter with curly brown hair, had to be John. As the two drew closer, Lafayette went to stand next to Alex, seemingly so that he didn’t feel threatened once the two others were at the car.

“You stale baguette! I told you to meet us on the north side of the mall!” Hercules chastised, flicking Lafayette in the ear to which they gladly retaliated by snatching his beanie from his head and donning it for themselves.

“Hey!”

“And I told _you_ , Hercules, that I wanted to meet on the south side in order to pick up Alex’s phone.” They punctuated their statement by sticking their tongue out at the larger teen who only shook his head. Alex was taken aback by this news however.

“Wait, you just said we would pick up some clothes. I don’t need a phone, Laf.” He assured them in a hushed tone.

“Of course you do, mon petit lion. How else will we keep in contact with you?” They asked. But realization dawned on their face. “Oh! Honte sur moi! Where are my manners? Alexander, allow me to properly introduce Hercules Mulligan.” They offered, gesturing their hands towards Hercules, who took the chance to snatch his beanie back from Laf’s head. He held his massive hand out to Alex.

“Nice to meet you man. You can just call me Mulligan though. Hercules is a little too Disney, if you ask me.” Alex shook his hand, not at all surprised at the firmness of his grip.

“Sure thing, Nice to meet you. Alexander Hamilton.”

“And the unnaturally quiet one next to him is our dearest John Laurens.” Laf gestured and Alex finally looked the other boy in the face.

His stomach sank, but in a good way that he couldn’t quite describe. The boy in front of him was incredibly gorgeous, freckles dusted across his angular face, accentuating his strong jaw and cheek bones. His eye were a warm hazel that chased away any of the cold that was beginning to settle in Alex’s core. When he smiled, Alex felt like he was being blown away. He held out his hand and it took every single one of Alexander’s brain cells to get his arm to extend and return the greeting.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He drawled, and at those words Alex melted. Well, he would have if his senses hadn’t caught back up with his reality.

“The pleasure’s all mine, Laurens.” He said, surprised that his voice had decided to work. Laf decided that then was the best time to break up whatever was going on between the two by clapping their gloved hands loudly and drawing everyone’s attention back to them.

“Fantastique! Now, let’s get this caravan moving!” They declared, hopping onto Herc’s back, who seemed to be far too accustomed to this. John shook his head and followed behind the eccentric pair. Before getting too far, he glanced back at Alex.

“You coming along, Hamilton?” He asked.

Without a word, Alex followed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations  
> mon petit lion= my little lion  
> Puis-je entrer=may i come in  
> mon petit= my little one  
> Tu n'es pas seul. D’accord= You're not alone. Okay?  
> D'accord=Okay  
> mon cher= my dear  
> Dites-moi ce n'est pas vrai= Tell me this is not true!  
> mon ami= my friend  
> mes amis= my friends  
> Honte sur moi= Shame on me  
> Fantastique= Fantastic
> 
>  
> 
> Originally, I was gonna have it so that Herc and Lafayette were arguing while they were picking out Laf's outfit for the next day over a skype call, but scrapped the idea. I was also gonna have a piece where I went on to explain my reasoning behind Laf's nickname for Alex(thw whole mon petit lion thing which a lot of writers seem to be inlove with, myself included) but I think I'll add it in the next chapter. And Alex finally got to meet John! Which, y'know, is rad I guess. Seeing as I intended it to be a lams fic, but what are ya gonna do about it? As always, comments and constructive criticism are always welcome. I crave validation in such a disgusting fashion, it should be illegal. Thank you all again for your support with everything that has happened last weekend. Your kindness is almost blinding (but like in agood way, trust me.) If you want to come hand out with me on tumblr, my url is https://www.tumblr.com/blog/ivebeenthinkingwaytoomuch


	5. And The Worlds Gonna Know Your Name!(mostly because everyone keeps asking for it)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Light bonding and shopping ensues. No real major issues happen in this chapter. It's pretty light...
> 
>  
> 
> OR IS IT?!?!?!?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note the use of foul language and slurs in this chapter.

Seeing as it was still before the holidays, the mall was pretty barren except for a handful of people. Alex and the others were met with a blast of warm air, causing them all to let out sighs of relief. Laf was still on Herc’s shoulders, rapid fire asking him what he would like to do after the mall, if they had time of course. While Hercules seemed to be keeping up, Alexander had lost Laf’s train of thought almost as soon as they had started. They were quickly interrupted by a nasally voice from across the entrance.

“Hey you two! No horsing around! This isn’t a playground!” A stout, pink man in a white collared shirt called, waving his pudgy finger at the group. Alex watched Laf dismount Hercules while simultaneously sticking their tongue out a the rent a cop. Laurens rolled his eyes.

“Buzz off, Paul Blart. No one’s in the mood for your shit attitude today.” This took the man off guard, and he huffed as he stalked away, muttering something about “kids these days…” While Hercules and Lafayette were cackling together, Alex just stood there dumbfounded as to what was so funny. Laurens looked at him with an equal amount of confusion.

“Haven’t you seen ‘Paul Blart: Mall Cop’?” He asked, his elbow gently nudging Alex’s side. Embarrassed at his lack of this seemingly basic knowledge, he looked away and shook his head.

“No. I don’t watch many movies.” He admitted. There was a reason for that, of course, but he didn’t really feel like disclosing that information so soon after meeting John and Hercules. But John just nodded and sent him a near blinding smile.

“Well Alex, if you’re gonna be hanging out with us, you’re gonna need to be cultured up on some movies. And don’t worry, we can start right away once we’re finished with your shopping.”

While Alex nodded, he wasn’t really looking forward to either of the things John had mentioned. If he were shopping with his own money, it’d be a different story. But this was the Washington’s money. While they would probably deny it now, Alex would soon be in debt to them, which is something he never wanted to be with anyone on any circumstances. As for the whole movie situation, he was pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to sit still that long and just lounge on a couch while his brain turned to mush.

“Mon petit, our phone carrier is a couple shops down. We’ll go in and grab your phone and then we’ll get to the good stuff.” Laf declared, grabbing Alex by both hands and tugging him along. Laf was good at that, getting him out of his own head when he most needed it. Alex had known them for less than 24 hours, but now he couldn’t imagine doing something like this without them.

“You getting an android or an iphone?” Herc asked, tailing both him and Lafayette. Once again, Alex was embarrassed by his lack of knowledge.

“What’s the difference?” He asked. John laughed at his side.

“They’re like night and day man.” Then, leaning in to whisper he continued. “Get an iphone so we can imessage and piss Herc off.”

“Oh, fuck off Larens, you grit covered biscuit.” Herc snipped playfully, shoving John a solid three feet away from Alex with little to no effort. John only laughed heartily and to Alex, it sounded like the most amazing thing he’d heard in a long time.

“Why do your insults for us always involve food from our places of origin, Mulligan?” He asked, gesturing to him and Laf who was happily leading the group. “What if we started calling you haggis or some nonsense like that?”

“Well then you’d be both Southern and wrong. Haggis is a Scottish dish, not an Irish one. So the food insults will to continue to be my schtick only, Laurens.” He finished with a pleased grin on his face. John shook his head.

“Fine then, potato famine.”

“Yo man, too soon.” Herc shot back.

“It was like a hundred and fifty years ago!”

“A hundred and sixty-four, actually.” Alex corrected, without thinking. He went to apologize, when John only gestured to him wildly.

“Thank you, Alex! See Mulligan?! Even more of a reason to-“

“Oh, soyez silencieux! Honestly, I can’t take either of you anywhere. Hercules, stop using food insults. You’ve over done it for the day. John, stop bringing up the potato famine of 1845 whenever Hercules gets on your nerves. And Alex, what phone would you like?” They asked, all trace of annoyance leaving their face. Alex rocked back and forth on his feet, looking around the shop. They all looked similar if not exactly the same, so he just shrugged.

“I really don’t need a phone, Lafayette.” He stated yet again. But John covered his mouth with his hand and raised is voice an octave in order to imitate Alex’s.

“You should get me an iphone and not and android, unlike _some_ people who can’t keep up with the group chat-“

“You wanna take this outside, Laurens?” Herc asked, catching John in a head lock and ruffling his curls. 

“Aw, only if you hold my hand, Mulligan.”

Alex was too distracted by both Hercules and John bickering back and forth with each other that he didn’t notice Lafayette picking out a phone, buying it and putting a case on it. The next thing he knew, his right thumb was being placed on a cool circular button that he was sure would break if he applied any more force to it.

“What the-“

“It is the same as my phone, so if you have any questions, go ahead and ask.” Laf declared, putting a receipt and and matte black card back into their wallet. Alex opened his mouth to protest again, but Lafayette held up their hand to stop him.

“No more arguing with me Alexander. I said we were getting you a phone and we have done so. I said we were getting you clothes and we will do so.” Alex looked down at the device that probably cost more than what his mother would make in a month back in St.Croix … He shook his head of the memories and gently placed the device in his pocket.

“Thank you.” he muttered, glancing up to see Laf beaming at him. Like the night before, they laced their arm with his and lead the way yet again out of the store, nearly leaving Hercules and John behind.

Their first store was pretty much empty with only one opening employee meticulously folding shirts off to the side. She greeted them all, told them about the sales, and promptly went back to folding. Hercules and Laf were over by the shirts and outer ware within seconds, spitting opinions back and forth, agreeing here and disagreeing there. Alex stuck with John, who seemed more relaxed when it came to clothes than the other two. Laurens filed through some folded shirts that were on display before making his way over to a couple of hanging hoodies. Again, he touched them, feeling their texture and gauging how comfortable they’d be. When his hand landed on a green jacket like thing with a sewn in hood, he picked a couple different sizes before handing them to Alex.

“Here, try these on. I’m not sure what size you are, but this is definitely your color.” He finished, a smirk on his face. Alex only sighed.

“Is everyone here obsessed with ‘my color’? Like I told Laf, so long as it keeps me warm, it’s fine.” He huffed, trying on the extra large jacket first and realizing quickly that it was far too big for him. John chuckled at the sight.

“It’s not that I’m ‘obsessed’ as you said, about you wearing the right color. I just know what goes well with what. For winter, a lot of people tend to wear harsh and bright colors that always clash with one another, somehow always in the name of christmas yada yada yada” He gestured at nothing, his hand spinning in a circle to make his point somehow. “But what they don’t realize is that a lot of darker colors during this season actually make someone look warmer and more inviting. So for you, a lot of navy’s, olive greens, and maroons would look good. Probably some gray stuff here and there, just to keep it tame, but it’s up to you.” He finished. Nervously looking towards Alex expecting some kind of judgement. All he saw was awe.

“Wow, you seem to know your stuff.” He said, putting all of the hoodies back on the rack. Joh rolled his eyes before grabbing a medium and slinging it over his arm before Alex could protest.

“I like art. While I’m not much for painting or anything like that, I can always appreciate coordination.” He continued as they made their way back over to Laf and Hercules who both had arm-fulls of shirts and jeans.

“These were the softest, warmest things we could find, dude. Just tell us which ones you like aesthetically, and then we’ll find your size.” Herc’s voice was muffled behind the stack of dress and t-shirts he was holding. Alex was pretty sure his mouth was hanging open.

“Seriously, I don’t need-“

“To keep saying that you don’t need all of this.” Laf finished, their voice stern but not threatening in the slightest. “Now, which ones do you like?” They asked again. Alex hesitantly pointed to three or four shirts on top of the pile and Hercules pumped his fist.

“Ha! Told you he would like the heathered shirts!” He gloated towards Laf, who only threw a pair of jeans over his face, effectively blinding him.

***

The day went on like that well until one on the afternoon, with everyone from the group rushing into a store and picking out different items of clothes for Alex to choose from before paying for them and moving on to the next one. While Alex felt both nervous and guilty about the whole expedition, a part of him secretly enjoyed being spoiled like this.

“Alright, alright, I’m about done for the day.” John huffed, leaning into Alex dramatically for support. “Can we get something to eat? I’m starving.”

“For once, I agree with Laurens.” Herc grumbled, sitting next to Laf on a bench outside of the last store they had visited. “What about you, Alex?” He asked.

Before he could respond, a near demonic growl sounded from his stomach, causing John to turn away in a fit of giggles.

_Traitor…_

“Then it’s settled. Shall we go and visit the Schuylers?” Laf announced, picking up a couple of the bags containing Alex’s new clothing. John and Hercules simply nodded and followed suit.

“Who are the Schuylers?” Alex asked.

“They’re a group of siblings from our school. Their dad is a pretty influential business man around here. They own a pretty good pizzeria in the mall.” John answered, taking one of the heavier bags from Alex’s hands. At that, Alex twitched in annoyance.

“You’re already helping with the shopping and stuff. You don’t have to carry the bags too.” He told Laurens taking the bag back forcefully. John shook his head.

“Tell you what. You eat a whole pie at lunch, I’ll let you carry your own stuff. But right now, it looks like you’ll topple over any second from all of the excess weight.” John bartered. Alex only smirked, confidence brimming.

“Is that a challenge?” He asked. If there was anything he could do well, besides writing and debating and all that, it was eat. John nodded, face serious.

“Damn straight it is.”

“I accept.”

The Schuyler Pizzeria was on the north side of the mall, apparently very close to where Hercules and John had parked. Lafayette exchanged quick words with the host, asking for the booth in the back near the brick oven. Once they were seated, Alex quickly figured out why and shed the hoodie Laf had lent him. The others followed suit with their jackets and before long, a server came up to the table.

“Hey everyone! What’s up?” She asked. Everyone except for Alex smiled at her.

“Yo Peggy! How are you? Your dad have you working this weekend, huh?” Herc asked, accepting the menu she offered him and handing it to Laf before taking another for himself. 

“Yeah, but I’m fine with it. Not really all that busy in the morning and Angelica has the evening shift, so I’ll be set by around five or six.” She replied easily. As she went to hand John a menu, she stopped and looked Alex up and down curiously before smiling once again.

“Well, this is a new face. Pleasure to meet you, friend. I’m Margarita Schuyler, but you can just call me Peggy.” She said, offering her hand to shake. 

“Pleasure to meet you, Peggy. I’m Alexander Hamilton.” he shook her hand and she made a little face at that.

“Quite the name. Very catchy. One could write music to it even.” she joked, and Alex cracked a smile.

Peggy left them all to figure out what they wanted to eat as she took care of another table on the other side of the oven. They each got their own pizza, John and Hercules getting two to themselves. While Alex had wanted to take John up on yet another challenge, he knew he was already pressing his luck with the Washington's and money, so he stuck with one pie like Laf. Shortly afterwards, Peggy had come back to get their orders to send in to the kitchen. As they waited for their food, they all began talking about this and that.

“I’m just saying, languages are weird. How do you get Peggy from Margarita? Like, I just don’t see it. Same with Richard. How do you get Dick from Richard?” John asked, scratching his head in genuine confusion. Laf smirked and started to say something, but John cut them off.

“And don’t you dare say ‘You ask him nicely’, Marquis.” To which Laf stifled their laughter in Herc’s sleeve. Alex even had to hide his laughter, not expecting that comment in the slightest.

“It started back in the middle ages.” he choked out between chuckles. John turned to him in genuine confusion.

“Wait, you actually know why that is?” He asked. Alex nodded.

“Yeah. It was back in the mid 1000’s, and it was pretty common to replace M’s with P’s with names. You would start with Margaret, shorten it to Meggy or Meg, and then replace it to get Peggy. It was because of the Norman invasion in 1066. As for Dick and Richard, a lot of people just gave Ricks nicknames that would rhyme. So Rick gave way to Dick and-“

“Of course you all would be talking about something so vile at a family restaurant.” A posh voice sounded from the end of the table. While Alex had been talking, a skinny, preppy looking kid had eavesdropped on their conversation. Just on first sight, Alexander knew that whoever this person was, he didn’t like them. Apparently, the same went for everyone else at the table.

“Seabury.” Laf greeted kinder than they probably needed to. The guy, now known as Seabury, crinkled his nose at them.

“Well, if it isn’t princess. Oh, sorry, or are you a man today? I can never keep up with it. I don’t know how you can!” They neared.

“That’s enough, Samuel. You and everyone else in the town knows that Lafayette is non binary and uses They/Them pronouns. Either you respect that or you walk away. You were never invited over here.” Herc spat, all traces of his friendly demeanor gone in an instant as he went to defend Laf. Seabury tutted.

“Honestly, it’s people like you all who are ruining this country. The worst thing we did collectively as a nation was letting you all legally marry. Actually, it was probably the worst decision in American History.” He spit right back. John cupped his hands around his mouth like a make-shift microphone and all but shouted.

“DO YOU REMEMBER FUCKING SLAVERY?!” He asked, effectively distressing Seabury and making him take a step back. “Honestly, the only people ‘ruining this country’, are people like you. So why don’t buzz off and go back to your table.”

At first, it looked like he would actually take Johns advice as he glanced around the table and saw that he was out numbered. But the his eyes landed on Alex, and his lips curled into a devilish smirk once again.

“Oh no. Oh, this is _rich._ You’ve gotten another misfit to join your rag tag revolutionary group?” He sneered, pointing at Alex with disbelief. Alex matched his look, wondering how this cretin could think he was on even playing ground with Laf, Herc, and John, let alone above them in any way, shape, or form. “What’s your name, man?” He asked. Alex puffed out his chest with pride.

“My name is Alexander Hamilton.” He spoke with the most confidence he’d had in a long time, his eyes burning into Seabury’s. But the other boy only guffawed.

“ _Alexander Hamilton.”_ he mocked, in a strange and forced accent. Alex didn’t sound like that and he knew it. His english was perfect, he had made sure of it. Worked hard to make himself sound like he was born and raised in the US. Seabury continued to laugh, wiping tears from his face before turning to Lafayette.

“Quite the cheeky little bastard you’ve got yourself.”

Alexanders blood ran cold.

“What did you call me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation  
> mon petit= my little one  
> soyez silenciieux=be quiet
> 
>  
> 
> Also, CLIFFHANGER!!! Sorry about the lack of update, but Ive written some other lams stuff that t you can find on my tumblr.https://www.tumblr.com/blog/ivebeenthinkingwaytoomuch. go ahead and chill with me if you wanna. you can even send in a request if you'd like. hope you all like the new chapter, seeing as it's been a month since i've updated...  
> Sorry about that!!!


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